This invention relates in general to HDTV signals and in particular to a method and apparatus for controlling the number of playbacks of recorded HDTV signals.
HDTV (high definition television) is rapidly becoming a reality and promises theater-like large screen video presentations in a home environment. HDTV signals extending to 37 MHz, as presently contemplated, will be transmitted in conventional 6 MHz bandwidth television channels. The HDTV signal will be compressed by any of a well known variety of signal compression techniques to enable transmission of the wide band signal in a conventional channel band without substantial loss of information.
The potential of theater quality video and high fidelity audio in a viewer's home makes HDTV a very marketable product. A natural question arises as to what, if any, security measures should be taken to preserve the normal "box office" for movies and other broadcast events. Presently super VHS tape recorders can accommodate a signal bandwidth of approximately 5.5 MHz. Consequently the means are presently available for recording compressed video HDTV programs and for copying prerecorded tapes of movies and the like in the HDTV format.
The solution to the "copying" problem adopted by the movie industry, which provides a great deal of the entertainment for television, is to exploit the normal box office market for new movie releases or special events before televising the movies or special events, or releasing them on video cassette. Ideally the industry should be able to simultaneously release a movie, televise it and make it available in recorded form without destroying the normal box office potential of the movie.
In cable television systems, the movie channels or premium services channels offer only movies that have already been exhibited in theaters. This normally occurs six months to a year after the normal box office release and the value of the premium service is significantly diminished as a result. While the movie industry realizes substantial revenue through the sale and rental of prerecorded tapes of movies, it must balance its loss of revenue from theater presentations when releasing them in broadcast or prerecorded form. The common solution is to delay the television and tape release of the movie, which entails additional advertising costs, precludes a unified marketing plan and loses the time advantage of simultaneous release.
At present, broadcasting a movie on an NTSC 6 MHz television channel makes it instantly available for copying with existing low cost tape recording equipment. This, of course, seriously impacts the subsequent tape rental market for that movie. Similarly, releasing a prerecorded tape of a movie at or near the time of the box office release can seriously erode the box office market. The result is that a unified cost-effective simultaneous release of a movie or event cannot presently be made without significant economic consequences. While the movie industry is not fundamentally opposed to the taping of their offerings--they want to be compensated for their product. If there were a way to realize a "return on investment" for each viewing of a movie, whether in a theater environment or in a home environment, the movie industry would favor it.
The advent of HDTV signals and their large 34 MHz bandwidth dramatically changes the situation since the equipment that is capable of recording such signals is prohibitively expensive. The HDTV signal in its transmitted compressed and encrypted form, however, is still capable of being recorded by present day, reasonably priced, super VHS tape recorders. The manifest desire to make first-run movies immediately available for display on home HDTV receivers and the above-described state of the art provided the impetus for the present invention.